Rockeybell Adatura is a leader who develops leaders, not followers. That’s his commitment to Ghana. For years, he has traveled all over Ghana and other parts of Africa to train pastors as leaders.
“God reminded me … of the teachers, evangelists, pastors, etc., that I have trained,” he recalls. “Some are working as missionaries, pastors, evangelists in Ghana, Sweden, the U.K., the U.S.A., and other African countries.”
His heart’s desire has been to have a training center. Pastors could come, stay for extended periods, and learn how to be effective Christian leaders. So for the past eight years, he has been praying, planning, and working to make it happen. He chose a site in northern Ghana, outside the city of Bolgatanga, and designed for office space, dorm rooms, classrooms, and a room for large gatherings. Rockeybell has a radio program on which he shares dramas he has written, similar to Focus on the Family’s “Adventures in Odyssey.” His team also performs gospel-centered dramas in neighborhoods and offers feeding programs in schools. Rockeybell ran most of this out of his home. This new ministry center would expand his capacity to reach people with the gospel and train more leaders to plant churches.
An unfinished project
The project hit a snag last year when funding ran out, and construction slowed. The incomplete building sat in the open during the rainy season, and part of it was damaged. Rockeybell knew another rainy season without a roof would ruin the entire project. That’s when Grace Assembly of Lynchburg, Virginia, stepped in to help.
“We want to be part of Rockeybell’s vision, and we’ve been a part of what he has done in the past,” said Lou Mancari, an elder at Grace Assembly and Africa Regional Director at ANM. “[He is] that tough guy, really confronting Muslims … He is just so filled with love for Muslims. He just wants to do everything he can to win them through love. He wants to win them at any cost.”
Grace Assembly sent the final gift of $4,200 to complete the roof. Work remains to be done within the building, but Rockeybell and his team have already begun using it for training programs. Rural pastors, some from far away, can now come to a central location to be trained before returning home to start new churches.
Winning in Ghana
Rockeybell wrote in one of his many books, “Winning Without Attacking,” about how to win the war without shedding blood. The only blood that needed to be shed was the blood of Jesus Christ. “We don’t do that. We don’t shed it [blood] ourselves,” Rockeybell said. His focus is reaching people with the gospel and training them intensely. With his new ministry center, he will be more effective in achieving his bottom line of reaching Muslims with love.
If Grace Assembly had not sent the money to put the roof on the building, Rockeybell would not be able to reach as many people with the gospel through training, dramas, concerts, etc. The impact of this one gift from one church is impressive.
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*Image above of Rockeybell’s new ministry training center in Ghana
